Mr. Bright Bernard Grant, Ekumfi District Chief Executive (DCE) has called on Key Stakeholders in the area to collaborate and support the Assembly to make the district step up the pace of development of the Area.

Mr. Grant made the call in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Samuel Koomson, District Information Officer at a meeting with the Ekumfi Traditional Council to brief them on the District Social Auditing for 2018 at Ekumfi Abrin.

The National Commission for Civic Education and the District Assembly jointly organised the meeting as part of the second phase of the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti –Corruption Programme (ARAP) which is a joint initiative between the government of Ghana and the European Union.

The DCE said the objective was to account to them the achievements and challenges of the Assembly in the implementation of the 2018 District Medium Term Development Plan (DMTDP).

According to him, the Assembly implemented a number of programmes and projects under approved DMTDP in the area of Health, social intervention, agriculture and economic projects.

On Health, the DCE stated that a Polyclinic had also been built at Narkwa while a number of CHIPS compound constructed to provide easy access to health care for the people.

Sensitisation programmes on school health and sanitation management were carried out with support from the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

Concerning Environmental Health, the DCE said during the period HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria sensitisation campaigns were held in various communities with 700 food and drink vendors medically screened to help reduce cholera, typhoid fever and other foodborne diseases.

It also embarked on a number of fumigation and sanitisation projects to reduce open defecation while the environmental By-Laws for the District was gazetted.

On social intervention, 170 Persons With Disability (PWD) benefited from the Disability Fund, 179 households benefitted from the LEAP support, 37 schools were currently enjoying the school feeding programme representing 84.1 percent.

More than 180 farmers were employed in the Ekumfi Fruit and Juice Factory and three fully furnished and functional ICT centres with the help of Maxim Nyansa Ghana Limited have been established at Atakwaa T.I Ahmadiyya, Essuehyia Methodist D/A basic schools and Youngsters Future Foundation Institute”.

The acquisition of 100 acres stretch of land for the construction of a modern market at Akwakrom, due to the absence of a major commercial centre in the district in spite of its agricultural presence had been done.

He said Skills training programmes in soap making, cassava processing into modern Gari and fish processing, detergent making, baking as well as comprehensive supervision and monitoring in public basic schools by circuit supervisors and field officers.

Others were the provision of pavement at the Essuehyia lorry station that had been a major relief for transport operators and road users in the district and those plying the Trans-ECOWAS Highway and the Engagement of more than 150 NABCO Trainees.

He announced that Ekumfi Fruit and Juice Factory, employed over 180 farmers, established 3 fully furnished and functional ICT centres with the help of Maxim Nyansa Ghana Limited at Atakwaa T.I Ahmadiyya, Essuehyia Methodist D/A basic schools and Youngsters Future Foundation Institute.

“We registered 3,562 farmers under the Planting for Food and Job Project, 2,800 of the number assessed farm inputs, over 1,390 bags of NPK fertilizer were distributed and over 658 bags of Urea fertilizer were also distributed”.

Despite these achievements, the Assembly has a number of challenges including, delay in releasing the Common and GETFunds and boundary disputes with Mfantseman Municipal Assembly were hampering development efforts.

Ms. Cecilia L. Dam, Ekumfi District Director of the NCCE said the engagement with the Chiefs was to provide a platform for discussions between the citizenry and duty bearers to collectively contribute and assess the development policies and projects in the district.

Odeefuor Akyin VIII, Paramount Chief of Ekumfi Traditional Area and President of the Ekumfi Traditional Council commended the organisers of the programme saying the traditional council was ready to support the Assembly in discharging its core duties to make life meaningful for people living in the area.